Deals
by Fairady
Summary: Temari wants to live, and she'll do anything to ensure her survival. Read the warnings.


**Warnings: Not full of happy fuzzies here. Dark as can be, mentioned sex with a minor that really isn't entirely consensual.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or it's characters, and I make no money off this. So please don't sue me.

Notes: I love the Sand sibs, I do, but there is a lot of twistedness that can be seen in them if you want. It really all seemed to come down to one question as I wrote this. What wouldn't Temari do to make sure she lived?

Deals  
by Fairady

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Temari isn't surprised to be placed on a team with two boys who are supposed to be her brothers. She does feel slighted though. Tradition and PR aside, it's obvious that she and Kankurou are only there as a blatant and desperate attempt to control Gaara. A very misguided one at that.

She learns that rather quickly as, on the first day they meet, Gaara shows his siblings and their sensei their roles in _his_ team. Temari and Kankurou make it out of the hospital in under a week. Their sensei doesn't.

It takes another week to find someone crazy enough to take their team. Gaara tolerates the man, a few weeks of enforced inactivity had been enough to change his mind on the whole team thing.

She sees her own relief reflected in Kankurou's eyes when they get their first mission. They're naively optimistic. A tense and bored Gaara was never a pleasant thing. Their sensei tells them it's a retrieval mission and that they should expect some encounters along the way. Temari feels a little excited at the prospect and Kankurou smiles. Gaara surprisingly says nothing, just continues to stare at their sensei.

The mission is a bust until they reach their destination. Temari realizes as the first hail of arrows screams past her that she should've asked a few more questions.

She finds out rather quickly that she and Kankurou have been deemed expendable. Their sensei is nowhere in sight, Kankurou isn't moving, and the world swims around Temari. The last thing she remembers before passing out is the stupidly surprised sense of betrayal.

She wakes up in pain and darkness. Kankurou is a dead weight on top of her and they're both horribly bandaged. Pushing him off she sits up and is greeted with Gaara's cold glare. Words stick in her throat and he eventually leaves her to re-do their bandages. Nothing needs to be said. She knows it's the last time he'll ever help them.

They set out back to the Village when the sun rises. Not even Kankurou dares to complain at the pace. They meet their sensei at noon. He barely looks at their wounds and tells them to hurry. There would be another mission waiting for them.

Temari and Kankurou are treated at the hospital and immediately released to the Kazekage. Temari felt stupidly optimistic, Kankurou said nothing.

Father hadn't looked up when they entered and fell behind Gaara. Their new mission was given, this time he didn't even bother trying to conceal the danger. Their sensei bowed and no one else but Gaara noticed when Temari didn't call the Kazekage father.

Their sensei didn't even bother following them all the way to the target this time. Which is fine for Temari, she'd already learned her lesson and wasn't planning on repeating it. Once assured of his absence she told Kankurou her plan. The boys continued to the target, Kankurou a safe distance behind their brother. Temari stopped in a convenient place and took a three hour nap before doubling back.

She found their sensei close to where she predicted he'd be. His eyes rolled in their sockets to follow her as she knelt next to him. The paralytic worked just as well as she'd been told it would. Nice to see her money was well spent. The man wasn't even able to make a sound as she slit his throat.

Two hours later she met up with her brothers. Kankurou had their objective and Gaara looked satisfied.

It took them another month to get a replacement for their sensei. She'd told the Kazekage that Gaara had killed the last one. No one questioned her and Gaara had only laughed.

Kankurou was uneasy about the shifty eyed man who smiled too much at the siblings. Temari had done her research during that month though. Before they were dismissed she made a deal with Gaara. If she found them another jounin to take the position, he would kill this new one before he had the chance to kill them.

That night Temari pays a visit to a jounin named Baki.

There is nothing in the files Temari had read that indicated he was especially suicidal, so his immediate refusal isn't a disappointment. Nor is his refusal to be moved by the money she offers, or the political clout that both she and Kankurou have. She offers everything she can think of and he still refuses.

There's a light to the one eye she can see when she runs out of the things she already knew he wouldn't accept. The things she used to stall long enough to prepare. If Temari let herself, she could probably get hypnotized by it. Or at least allow herself to fixate on it enough to blank her mind.

She does it. Sitting back in the chair, one foot braced against the table while the other slides away, and makes her final offer. She offers herself. Baki accepts.

No one asks when their latest sensei becomes a bloody pulp. They're just relieved when Baki steps up to take the role, and Gaara's sent out of the Village on another bloody mission.

Gaara's grin is hideous when Baki tells them exactly what force and odds they're up against. He doesn't even try to hide the fact that it's another desperate attempt on Gaara's life.

Kankurou is relieved when Baki lets Gaara go ahead and checks them into an inn. He's more relieved when Baki states, upfront and honest, that he'll never let the two of them be thrown into the crossfire again.

The light in Baki's eye is even brighter when he comes to her room that night. Temari swallows her feelings down and loses herself in it while spreading her thighs. It's their deal after all, and Temari desperately wants to live.

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End file.
